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Thursday, December 26, 2013

The conditions in the Warsaw ghetto were deplorable. As
more and more Jews were forced in from neighboring towns and villages, conditions
became increasingly desperate. In addition to starvation, a typhoid epic,
caused by the poor sanitary conditions, broke out. By April 1941 the mortality
rate in the ghetto was a staggering six thousand people per month. Funeral
carts would come and collect bodies every morning, between 4-5 A.M.

The squalid conditions notwithstanding, Torah and
mitzvos continued to be observed clandestinely, despite the risks involved in
doing so. The faithful were encouraged by the herculean faith of the great Torah
leaders in the ghetto, such as Rabbis
Kalunimus Shapiro, the Piaseczner Rebbe, and Menachem Ziemba zt’l hy’d.

The Alexander Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchok
Menachem Mendel Danykcer zt’l hy’d, was one of the righteous Torah leaders who was
a bastion of faith in the ghetto. After being deported, he died in Treblinka in
1943.

During one of the discourses that he delivered
in the ghetto he related the following thought: In Tehillim, Chapter 92, ‘Mizmor
Shir L'Yom HaShabbos - A Psalm for the Sabbath Day’, King David describes
the connection one must always maintain with G-d. “It is good to thank G-d and
to sing to Your Supreme Name. To tell of Your kindness in the morning and Your
faith at night.” The commentators explain that morning is a reference to times
that are pleasant and smooth, when G-d’s divinity is clear and revealed. Night on
the other hand, symbolizes the ominous junctures of life when G-d’s Presence is
hidden and unclear.

To speak of
G-d’s kindness during good times is logical and befitting. But what does it
mean to speak of G-d’s Faith during trying times? The verse does not say, “To
tell of Your kindness in the morning and our faith at night”, but of
“Your faith at night”. That we strive to have faith in G-d is understood, but
who does G-d have faith in? Does He need to believe in Himself?

The Rebbe
explained that we are referring to G-d’s faith in us! During challenging
situations and in difficult times we must know that G-d has faith in our
ability to rise to the challenge and to transcend our adversities.

We often lack
faith in ourselves which leads us to think that we cannot survive the pain we
are suffering. But the mere knowledge that G-d in Heaven believes in him and
knows his capacities far better than he himself does, is enough to strengthen
one’s resolve. Ghetto life was miserable and subhuman. But G-d had faith in them,
and His faith is stronger than a humans!

“G-d said to
Moshe and Aharon saying, ‘When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Provide a wonder
for yourselves,’ you will say to Aharon, “Take your staff and cast it down
before Pharaoh - it will be a snake’!” …Pharaoh, too, summoned his wise men and
sorcerers, and they too – the necromancers of Egypt – did so with their
incantations. Each one cast down his staff and they became snakes; and the
staff of Aharon swallowed their staffs.”[1]

The vernacular
of the verse, “When Pharaoh will…say, ‘Give for yourself a sign” seems
strange. If anything, Pharaoh would demand a sign to prove to himself and the
Egyptians the veracity of Moshe’s claim. Why would Pharaoh demand that Moshe
give a proof to himself?

Also, why specifically
the transformation of a stick into a snake? If G-d wanted to impress Pharaoh,
there are other outlandish miracles that would be more impressive, especially
because Pharaoh was not the least bit excited by the “stick-snake”
transformation? Rashi notes that after all of the snakes had become staffs
again Aharon’s staff swallowed their staffs. Still, G-d could have
performed greater miracles to impress Pharaoh?

Rabbi Meir
Shapiro zt’l[2]
explained that when Moshe originally appeared before Pharaoh and declared that
Klal Yisroel is G-d’s Nation and he must therefore release them from bondage,
Pharaoh mocked him. “How can you say that the lowly Jews are a divine people?
They are idolaters just like their captors. Why should I free a group of idolatrous
peasants?”

The response to
that claim of Pharaoh was symbolized by the staff-snake transformation. “Give
for yourself a sign”, i.e. a sign that reflected why the Jews are elite and worthy
of redemption; a sign that symbolized the Jews own uniqueness and greatness.

The staff of
Aharon bore an engraving of G-d’s ineffable Name, and was therefore holy. Moshe
instructed Aharon to take that staff - which in his hand represented sanctity
and purity - and cast it onto the floor of the palace in front of the feet of
Pharaoh. Almost immediately it transformed into a snake, the symbol of evil and
godlessness, a representation of the primordial serpent who introduced sin to
mankind.

The message to
Pharaoh was that while it’s true that currently the Jews appear to be as depraved
and lowly as the Egyptians, that is because they are forced to wallow in the
impurity of Egypt.
Even a holy stick can become a slithering snake on the floor of Egypt. But then,
when Aharon reached out and grasped the snake by the tail, it immediately
reverted back to its original form, as a holy staff. So too, despite how the
Jews appear presently, if they would be hoisted from the noxious Egyptian
environment and would be granted the opportunity to ascend from the exile, they
would immediately transform into a “Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.”

Despite the
potent message, the verse continues, “The heart of Pharaoh was strong and he
did not heed them, as G-d had spoken.” Though his skepticism was refuted he
obstinately refused to accede to the truth, a trait that would ultimately cause
the destruction and downfall of his kingdom.

It is well-known
that success and motivation is contingent on one’s self-esteem. If a person
believes in himself and his abilities, and feels that he is a worthy and
deserving person, he will have the impetus and drive to succeed. But if one
feels undeserving or unable - all of his potential and strengths not
withstanding - his ability to accomplish will be stymied.

G-d told Moshe
that Pharaoh would demand that Moshe give a sign for himself! Moshe and
Klal Yisroel needed to themselves believe in the potential that they possessed.
As long as they saw themselves as a lowly nation of battered slaves Pharaoh was
indeed correct; they were no better than their idolatrous captors.

Then verse (6:9)
states that when Moshe announced that the redemption was imminent, “They did
not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work”. The words “מקוצר רוח” can also mean “a dearth of spirit”. As long as the nation
lacked hope and spirit, the redemption could not commence because it would have
been purposeless.

It was only when they realized their roots and their innate dormant
potential that they could believe that they were truly destined for greatness.
In a sense, it was only when their belief in themselves paralleled G-d’s belief
in them that the process of redemption was able to begin.